Boone Hospital breaks ground on new campus in south Columbia

COLUMBIA - The Boone Hospital Center Board of Trustees broke ground on the new south campus medical plaza at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The new south campus will be built on 14 acres of land at the corner of Forum Boulevard and Nifong Boulevard. Construction on the new $20 million hospital will start in phases and construction of phase one should start the week of July 28.

"We're very excited about the possibilities here. It's a chance for us to expand our footprint in this community and a chance to bring our services to the people of south Columbia, make it more convenient for them," said Fred Parry, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The board of trustees originally bought the land in 1989 because it was anticipating Columbia to grow in size in the future.

"We knew at some point in time that this area would be a significant area of Columbia," said Jim Sinek, president of Boone Hospital Center.

Coil Construction is the company selected by the board to manage construction of the new buildings and the surrounding area. Part of construction involves adjusting the lanes at Forum and Nifong Boulevards near the campus to allow for increased traffic to the hospital.

"Coil Construction is pleased to be a part of bringing Boone Hospital Center and its great reputation to the south part of Columbia," said Randy Coil, owner of Coil Construction, in a news release.

Coil Construction plans to have the roof up by December, and would like to have the building fully functional by fall 2015.